Concrete rail and track



W. J. PLAUEN.

CONCRETE RAIL AND TRACK.

APPLICATION FlLED DEC. 10. 1919.

Patented May 4,1920.

a .xm-z `l INVENTOR mmqf@ 'y ATTORNEY WILLIAM J, lLATTE-N, QF BAY: WISCONSIN.

GONCRETE nain AND TRACK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented lwzty 4f, 1920.

Application led December 10, 1919. Serial No. 343,745.

To aZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, IVILLIAM J. PLATTEN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Green Bay, in' the county of Brown and State of lVisconsin, have invented. l a new and useful Improvement in Concrete Rails and Tracks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Myinvention relates to improvements in a concrete rail and track, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a concrete track which is stronger, more permanent, and cheaper' to maintain than the ordinarysteel rail and wooden tie track in common use.

A further object of my invention is to provide a rail and track construction which will prevent the usualR sagging of the rail.

A further object of my invention is to provide a rail and track construction in which an economy is effected in the use of steel. j

A further objectv is t0 provide a railv and track construction in which the rail is held to the base by means of clamps which are adjustable, and which lock the rail in position, as distinguished from the ordinary means in which a spike is driven yinto the wooden cross tie, the spike being held by friction.y

A further object of my invention is to provide a rail construction in which the rails are positively held from spreading apart.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rail and track construction, forming Vone embodiment of my invention, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view ofk a modied form of the device.

In` carrying out my invention, I provide oted clamping members 3, like those shown in Fig. 2, these clamping members being Secured at the ends of transverse rods -l ex'- tending through the sub-base.

Arranged to bel supported on the subbase isvtlie rail. This consists of a lower portion 5 of reinforced concrete, having embedded in its upper surface a T-bar (i, as

clearly-shown in Fig. 1. This T-bar forms tlie'bearing surfareof the rail. It will be" understood that the central web 7, may be larger than that shown in the drawing without departing from the' spirit of the invention. The dimensions of the T-bar would be proportioned in accordance with working conditions. The lower part 5 vof the rail thus formed has projecting therefrom bars 8, to which the clamping members 3 are secured, the' rail lbeing-,held tothe subbase by tightening the nuts 9 carried by the clamping members.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modilied form yin which the sub-base supports a rail, consisting of the lower portion and the T-,bar

fembedded therein, at its top. vThe T-bar is made of. hard steel, and surmounting it is a softer metal bar 11. A hard steel vchan- 12 is replaceable.

In both forms of the device, the line between the sub-base and the lower portion 5 of the rail is approximatelyV the neutral axis of the'rail and the sub-base.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. The design is preferably planned to be equivalent to a 100 lb. standard rail with its accompanying track, under a 19000 1b. wheel load. The rail is designed to be cast in about 26 ft. lengths and in the form shown in Fig. 2 would be laid with expanding joints, these joints being staggered. By casting the track in sections, there would be mutual support for the rail, and sagging could not occur if the road bed happened to be soft under one tie. The sub-base portion of the track has the effect of doubling the effective depth of the rail, giving muchgreater stiffness and preventinv the rail from bending under the load. he sub-base provides a solid junction support for the ends of the concrete rails, thereby eliminating the sag usually occurring in present practice where the rail load is at the rail ends' borne by one tie. The concrete rail is practically rust proof, as the exposed steel is in the head, where it is self cleaning. The concrete rail would. have less than half the steel in the present steel rails. The concrete rail has a lower center of gravity than the steel rail. Considering the sub-base and the rail as a unit, the neutral aXis, as stated, would be along their contacting edges so that very little stress occurs at the junction of the rail and the sub-base, and consequently, there would be no movement between them.

rllhe former' the device illustrated in Fig. 2 is to be used where the tralic is heavy. Th'e'wearing head, z'. e., the channel 12, is replaceable at small expense.

The means for clamping the rail to the sub-base permits the use or' standard steel rails on the concrete track with but slight change from the usual construction.

I claim:

l. A rail and track construction comprising a concrete sub-base, integral cross ties forming a unitary structure with said base, a rail carried by said sub-base, said rail having a lower portion formed of concrete, ametal wearing portion embedded in the concrete at the top thereof, and means for securing said railv to said sub-base.

2. A rail and track construction compris ing avconcrete sub-base, integral cross ties forming a unitary structure with said base, a rail carried by said sub-base, said rail having a lower portion ormedo concrete, a metal wearing portion embedded in the concrete at the top thereof, means for securing said rail to said sub-base, said last `named means comprising pivoted clamping members carried by said sub-base, bars carried by the rail and arranged to receive said pivoted members, and nuts for securing said pivoted members to said bars.

3. In a rail and track construction, a concrete sub-base, a rail mounted on said subbase, said rail comprising a lower concrete portion and an upper metal portion partially v `securing' said pivoted members to said bars'.

5. A rail construction comprising a lower portion having a llat bottom. and tapering sides, and an upper wearing portion .com.

prising a T-bar having its central web e'X- tending downwardly, and being embedded in the concrete of the lower portion, the sides of the T-bar beingiushV with the upper edges of the sides of the sub-base.

6. A-rail construction comprising a lower portion having a lat bottom and tapering sides, an upper wearing portion comprising a T-bar having its central web extending downwardly, and being embeddedin the concrete of the lower portion, the sides of the T-bar being flush with the upper edges of the sides of the sub-base, a relatively soft metal bar surmou-nting said T-bar,a channel iron cap covering said soft metal bar and said T-bar, and means for securing said cap in position.

, WILLIAM J. PLATTEN,

AKEW" .n 

